One line on the news

HDN | 1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM |

Diabetic prisoner dies in custody Mehmet Ali Yaprak, who was being held in Kartal Prison, died in a hospital after falling into a diabetic coma on Monday. Yaprak was arrested during a police raid against a narcotics operation located in a drug factory

Diabetic prisoner dies in custody

Mehmet Ali Yaprak, who was being held in Kartal Prison, died in a hospital after falling into a diabetic coma on Monday. Yaprak was arrested during a police raid against a narcotics operation located in a drug factory in Gebze. Police seized 5 million units of the drug "Captagon" during the raid. Prison authorities said Yaprak, 54, fell into a diabetic coma on Sunday and was taken to Kartal's Dr.Lutfi Kirdar Education and Research Hospital but couldn't be saved.

Yaprak's son, Ahmet Yaprak, who came to the hospital after learning about his father's death, told reporters his father had a kidney problem in addition to the diabetes but that authorities hadn't taken appropriate actions to preserve his health.

"We showed his medical reports to everyone and asked numerous time to be admitted to a hospital. He was supposed to eat diabetic meals but the prison officials did not provide these until very late. We will file a complaint against the prison director and other officials," said Yaprak.

Health Ministry rewards Turkish quake-relief team

The Ministry of Health presented a letter of commendation to the members of the Turkish health team who recently traveled to Iran to provide assistance to the earthquake-stricken city of Bam. Each member of the team, which returned to Turkey yesterday, also received a new mobile phone. Minister Recep Akdag presented the awards to the 32 team members at a ceremony in Ankara.

Education minister visits Britain

Education Minister Huseyin Celik has gone to Britain as the official guest of British Education Minister Charles Clarke, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday. Celik will attend an education ministers' seminar on Jan. 6 and 7.